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A Big Check In My Bucket List: #SoloChicTravel

“To travel alone in a foreign land…” is one big thing that was off from my bucket list this 2014. I booked this trip October last year, assuming that I will only spend 3 days of solo travel. But things didn’t work as planned, so I have no choice but to travel alone for 10 days. Good thing that I’m trapped to wander solo in one of my dream destination – Japan.

Few months before the trip, I’m considering canceling the trip, I have couple of doubts in mind… Can I really do it on my own? Can I really eat alone? Walk around solo? What if I get lost and can’t go back to my home country? What if I get sick, no one will be there to take care of me? What if I run out of money and no more cash to spend? What if I lost my passport? I have hesitations, in my heart I felt I’m not that confident enough, I’m not that courageous enough and I’m not that strong enough to do this 10 day #SoloChicTravel journey. All this what if’s, can I really questions and not enough statements just didn’t help… So after praying and seeking God if I’ll go or not, God reminded me of my life verse in Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” So I keep this verse with me and I didn’t allow these thoughts to hinder in realizing one of my dreams. So, I lay them down the map and get wonderfully lost, I just go.

Traveling solo in a place that you’ve never been before is more than exciting, it is a liberating, soul stirring experience that every traveler should experience! Every plane ride, train ride, bus ride, every foot steps towards my destination is just so thrilling. The thought that I know where I want to go, but I don’t know how to get there adds to the excitement of my greatest travel adventure so far.

I’m so “kilig” in everything that I see, in every place I’ve been and every experience I’m in. Everything is first and fresh, it’s a dream slowly turning to reality. Every day is a worth travel diary experience. Every city has a unique personality… I love the fun and chill vibe in Osaka, the silence and modesty of Kyoto, the modern and fast-paced life of Tokyo, the calm suburbs of Odawara and Gotemba and the striking laid-back city atmosphere of Yokohama.

True enough, I never felt afraid and alone in my 10 days of adventure of and misadventure in the land of the rising sun. I experienced God is with me wherever I go… I must say He’s a great travel buddy. It’s a shared adventure with our God. It’s like experiencing God in a unique extraordinary way outside of your comfort zone. In summary, it was joyful, blessed, captivated, comforted and protected journey! God just enthralls me his beauty and creativity. God revealed His glory, indescribable, uncontainable, glorious and majestic. My last day was Easter Sunday, I remembered the beauty of Jesus love for us, that He gave His life for us, so that we may have life and have it to the full (John 10:10).

Japan is such a beautiful country because of a beautiful God. – Grace Bible Church